COVA Reflection

COVA REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

April 6, 2023

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

                                                      -Robert Frost, Mountain Interval  (1915)

    The quote used above summarizes my decision not only to enroll in a graduate school but to also to choose the ADL program at Lamar University.  So often I have heard my colleagues comment on not only the ease of graduate programs they have attended, but also how they usually can not or do not apply the concepts learned in those programs.  They enrolled in programs just to get the degree.  The ADL program at Lamar has given me a new direction with which to approach my classroom teaching and environment as I enter into the last phase of my teaching career.

     My first class, Disruptive Innovation in Technology, scared me, as this was the first time in my educational and teaching career that I was given full control as to how and what I presented as my understanding of what I learned. The idea of COVA and authentic assignments gave me pause, as I had to get out of the mindset that I had to regurgitate the information that my instructors were giving me. My initial reaction was one of loss. I was lost as to how and what I was to do and relied on the people in my cohort and my professors to truly understand what and how I presented what I had learned. I quickly realized that I was not ready for a program like this and seriously considered withdrawing from it and possibly finding a program much like my colleagues at work spoke of. It was through some serious conversations with my wife, family, and through early successes in the program that convinced me to remain with the program.

    I figured out that I had to adjust quickly to this style of learning, and that I had to trust in myself and the process.  I had to believe that my professors would guide me to discover my Voice through allowing me the Ownership and Voice that would lead me to where I am now. Taking control of my choice and voice was very difficult because, as I said, I was not used to this style. My district requires a certain format for lesson planning and the structure of final examinations for courses. To adjust to this style, I also had to abandon the idea that there is only one way to present what I had learned, and feel confident that I did my best.  My wife was my sounding board and read the majority of my work before the submission. It was not until the end of that first term that I felt I began to understand the idea of voice, ownership, and choice in my work in the program.  

     I have been espousing the need for change in how my district conducts the business of learning in our schools. I have pushed for the need for a more concise and coherent K to 12 ELA scope and sequence. I have fought for better curriculum design and more advanced courses in areas that will help us to achieve to achieve the district mission statement, “Prepare each student by name for success at every level.”  I have recently proposed that the lesson plan policy in my district be emended to the Fink 3- Column table.  I recently submitted a Fink's 3-Column table to my central administration that I developed using the Ludia- Poe educational AI software, introduced in my UDL cohort. The idea of promoting change in my district is not a new concept to me, but this program has given me the knowledge and tools to push even harder for significant change in how we achieve the mission statement.

     Although I am not the first in my building or district to use the flipped classroom model, I believe I am the first to attempt the truly Blended Learning Classroom (my innovation plan). It was the apathy I saw in my students that I began to develop, and I think that my innovation plan could be a possible solution to that apathy. So, no, I did not create it to get through the coursework, but hope to use it to promote the change that is needed in my district.

    The concepts and elements of CSLE+COVA have allowed me to adapt my learning philosophy, and this is now what guides my desire to follow through with my innovation plan. Learning is a way of life. It has taken a change in my mindset from that of a teacher to that of a learner, and looking to pass that idea along to my learners. Whether students or others believe this or not, we are all lifelong learners. Our parents teach us to tie our shoes, brush our teeth, and respect others. Schools also teach us how to be good citizens through study and example. My learning philosophy has changed since I began the program, and it is the CSLE+COVA that has helped to focus my learning philosophy. I see the change in my philosophy is that my students’ learning is far more important than how good a teacher I think I am. It is not all about me, if it ever was at all.

     I feel that it would be a waste of time, money, and effort not to use the CSLE+COVA approach to see and be the change in my school district. I need to work and study more to find the best way to give my students the choice, ownership, and voice through authentic assignments.  The lead MTSS coach in my building is a former KIPP teacher and administrator, and there are several programs within reasonable traveling distance to my school that I can arrange to visit.  Some of them are even used as exemplars in Horn and Staker’s (2014) Blended. 

     I cannot do this alone, and I hope to help develop significant professional learning programs in my district in order to promote the CSLE+COVA. I will first have to find my supporters and use them and the resources available to present high-quality PL over a period of several months, if not over a full school year or more. My challenge of CSLE+COVA is not the buy-in on my part, I am there.  The problem will be for my colleagues to buy into the idea of CSLE+COVA. Many of my colleagues have been at my school as long as I have, and are resistant to change and the adoption of new ideas. CSLE+COVA is not an initiative and I am going to have to get them to understand that.